Page 66 of In Between Death and the Devil

We both held our breath as a new set of footsteps approached and then passed us.

I heard the low murmur of two people talking and then more footsteps as someone passed us again.

There was nothing to do but stay still and quiet. We were stuck here until we could manage an exit without being seen.

The scent of him invaded my lungs as I sucked in a breath, musk and cherry. I couldn’t see his face in the darkness, but I felt his breath on my cheek and the heat of him at my front. Warmth seeped into me, stealing my focus. The disappointment of not knowing whether I could trust him drained away, replaced by physical sensation. The rough texture of the wall at my back through my clothes, the velvet caress of his shadows against my skin, the firmness of his thigh between my legs. We hadn’t been close like this since the night we met, and my body sang in response. Tension seeped out of my shoulders and traveled south until it pulsed between my legs, adding to the ache there.

Instead of thinking about whether or not I could trust him, I thought about our first kiss. My lips parted as the memory flooded me. The way his mouth had felt against mine, the weight of his hands on me. The way it had set me aflame and craving more.

A bolt of arousal speared through me, making me gasp. It wasn’t mine. It was his. The mark on my breast throbbed and he made a soft noise, like he’d swallowed a groan.

Something like triumph rose within me, a feeling both foreign and effervescent. Knowing he was just as affected as I was, that he desired me, made me feel powerful. I imagined taking his face in my hands and pulling his mouth to mine, unleashing all the desire coiled inside of me. He could take it, withstand it and return it tenfold, I had no doubt. The idea sent a pleasant shiver through me.

Without thinking, I shifted my weight, trying to get closer and causing his thigh to press firmly against my center. My eyes drifted closed at the exquisite pressure, exactly where I wanted it. For once, I let my instincts take over. Reaching forward, my hands found his stomach. Beneath the leather of his tunic, I felt his muscles contract and his breath hitch at the contact. His solidity was comforting. I let my hands roam, up the expanse of his chest, over his collarbone and to the side of his neck until I cupped his jaw. His beard prickled pleasantly against my skin.

“Maeve.” My name was a breathless plea on his lips. One I wanted to eat.

He bent forward willingly with the lightest tug, until our noses touched. His breath whispered against my lips. Why had I waited so long to do this when it felt so right?

Doubt washed over me like a cold splash of water, making me freeze in surprise. Mostly because it wasn’t coming from me.

The swirl of confusion I’d felt earlier came flooding back. Nothing had changed, and here I was letting my attraction to him overrule common sense. Yet the heat in my veins didn’t dissipate. It remained, pulsing insistently. What my body wanted was different than what my head wanted, and the clash between the two left me breathless.

My hands dropped to my sides. I felt his disappointment and hurt, sharp and acidic like a burn. Shame coated my insides, hot and sticky, finally dousing my desire. I couldn’t believe I’d let myself get so carried away. Here in the dark it was too easy to forget all the reasons I had not to trust him.

I felt him pull away, his hands by my head dropping, the heat of him fading as he put distance between us. The absence left me cold, even though I could still feel him through our bond and the mark. His pain at my rejection echoed in the small space. I suppressed a shiver. My muscles twitched with the urge to run. We needed to get out of the Library so we could sever the connection between us.

Light flooded back into the alcove as his shadows evaporated. I blinked at the sudden change, but I was able to make out his back as he peered out of the alcove and the arm he reached back, gesturing at me to follow. We hurried down the corridor. I had to nearly run to keep up with him.

As soon as we stepped through the portal, his power slipped from under my skin in a rush, and the link between us dissolved. He was a distant presence in our connection once more. A breath shuddered out of me. I was alone, as much as I could be since we’d bonded. It was a relief, and yet I felt empty.

We were right back where we started, with me tied to a man I didn’t know if I could trust. Except now that I knew what had happened, I had more questions.

“Is there another way to find out who hired Colt?” I asked.

The Devil kept his back to me, facing the door. “I don’t know.” He sounded tired.

“Maybe we could take another look at his record, find out who referred Colt to the man we saw him with.”

He turned at my suggestion, his expression incredulous.

Right. Going back into the Library would require another temporary mark. “Or you could look and tell me about what you find.”

“Would you believe anything I said?”

I flinched at the bitterness in his voice, but I didn’t have an answer. I was afraid to believe him.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I looked for a clue for us to follow, but there was nothing.”

“There has to be something,” I pressed, unwilling to give up.

“Why?”

“Someone hired Colt to frame me for murder. If it wasn’t you, I need to know who.”

“For what purpose, Maeve? You’re dead. You can’t seek revenge or justice. Even if you were a Judge, you wouldn’t be able to do those things. You’d be barred from judging their soul. Who it is matters less than the fact that what happened with your family is not entirely your fault. That’s what you should take away from this.” His words had the same bite to them they’d held the night he’d brutally pushed me away.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Words stuck in my throat. I felt like the last few hours hadn’t happened. As if he hadn’t apologized and given me a window into his past. He was standing only a few feet away, but there might as well have been a giant gulf between us.